What does probability of an event mean?

Answer 1

Probability is the likelihood, expressed in numerical or ratiometric terms, that an event will occur. A probability of 1 means that the event will occur. A probability of 0 means that the event will not occur. A probability of 0.5 means that the likelihood of the event occurring is equal to the likelihood of it not occurring. For instance, a fair coin has a 0.5 probability of being heads, and a 0.5 probability of being tails.

Defined formally, probability is the number of permutations of the desired outcome divided by the number of permutations of all possible outcomes. Take a standard six-sided die, for instance. There are six permutations. One of them is a 1, so the probability of rolling a 1 is 1 in 6, or about 0.1667.

Probability is not assured. If you roll a die 600 times, you will not necessarily get 100 1's. Over the long run, you will approach that outcome, but each trial will have different results. This is the difference between theoretical probability and experimental probability - theoretical being the mathematical estimate - experimental being the observed results.